Factors Affecting The Attraction In Romantic Relatiomships: Self Disclosure Flashcards
Self disclosure
The voluntary revealing of personal information about yourself to another person. Through self disclosure we let ourselves be known to another person
Self disclosure is an important process in the development of romantic relationships
With greater self disclosure leading to greater feelings of intimacy and relationship satisfaction
Researchers have found that it is not self disclosure that predicts relationship satisfaction but…
The type of self disclosure.
Sprecher found that disclosure of personal disappointments and accomplishments and I for about previous sexual relationships have a…
Greater influence on relationship satisfaction than more neutral types of self disclosure
Shaver pointed out for w relationship to develop….
Self disclosure needs to be reciprocal
Once you have decided to disclosure something that your true self, hopefully….
Your partner will respond with understanding and empathy and also their own thoughts and feelings
In a successful relationship…
There is a balance of self disclosure
Self disclosure and the internet
Cooper and Sportolari refer to this as the boom and bust phenomenon
When people reveal more about themselves earlier than in face to face interaction, relationships get very intense very quickly (boom)
Because underlying trust and true knowledge about the person is not there it becomes difficult to sustain the relationship (bust)
Supporting evidence of the importance of self disclosure in attraction and relationship satisfaction.
Sprecher and Hendricks positive correlation
Studied hetero dating couples, found w strong correlation between several measures of satisfaction and self disclosure (both theirs and their partners)
Men and women who used self disclosure and those that believed their partners did were more satisfied and committed to their relationships
Laurenceau et so used a method that involved writing a daily diary. Researchers found SD and perception of SD in a partner were linked to
Higher levels of intimacy in long term married couples. The reverse also true- low levels of intimacy in short term relationships linked to lack of SD and perception of their partners SD.
Adds validity to the theory that SD leads to more satisfying relationships
Methodological issues with supporting evidence from Sprecher and Hendricks
Correlational evidence has issues with establishing cause and effect
Lack of manipulation of measures of self disclosure and satisfaction can’t be sure which causes which.
Alternatively being committed leads to more SD not vice versa
Question possible importance of SD in relationship satisfaction due to possible issues regarding validity
Evidence for cultural differences in patterns of self disclosure from Chen
Western engage in more intimate SD
Americans disclose more than Chinese or Japanese .
Japanese women disclose less than men, opposite to SD patterns in the West.
Importance of SD as an aspect of attraction is fluenced by one ones culture
